I used to be Britain's longest-running wrestling blogger. Then I got a proper job.

Monday, 31 December 2007

Extreme Warfare 2 - Game Review

Have you ever wanted to become head booker of one of the big wrestling promotions, being able to book cards, and hire and fire whichever wrestler you want?

Well, Extreme Warfare 2 allows you to do this. It's a well known fact that I like wrestling computer programs, whether it be running my old UKWA thing on Zeus, or kicking someone's candy ass on Smackdown on the PSX.

But being able to actually run a promotion, every aspect of it, from the finance side to the booking side, intrigued me a great deal.

A friend told me of Promotion Wars, and I'll probably review that at a later date, but I believe that Extreme Warfare 2 is one of the best types of this genre.

And the best thing about it is it's free! Yep, you can go to the website and download the game, in ZIP form, for free.

So what exactly do you do in this game? Well, you are able to become the big chief of either the WWF, WCW or ECW. It is pretty easy to start, but a word of warning. If you chose ECW as your promotion, you wouldn't have much joy. This game is pretty true to life. ECW has no television contract, and very little money. You will find that the only shows you are able to put on are pay-per-views, and that your ability to sign new wrestlers will also be limited. After all, would you want to wrestle for a company that only puts on one show a month?

Right. So having now established that you should choose either the WWF or WCW, you can now hire and fire your staff and wrestlers. Another word of warning here - you can only hire staff and wrestlers who are not under contract. As a WCW booker, you will not be able to hire The Rock or Stone Cold. However, you will be able to hire Steve Corino, who starts the game as a free agent, as well as adding Jerry Lawler to your announcing team. Yep, it's that up to date. Oh, and you can fire Hulk Hogan's ass as well. This gave me GREAT joy.

Having chosen your active roster, and hired and fired whoever you wanted to, you can then book your shows. You don't book house shows in this game, just TV tapings. Another tip - if you want a top rated show, don't leave things to your assistant booker. Your ratings will drop slightly, and your boss will be a bit annoyed.

Throughout the game, wrestlers and staff will be released from their respective companies. For some reason, in a recent game, the WWF released Buh Buh but not D-Von. Odd really.

Even though I am praising this game throughout, there are some areas where it is let down slightly. Unlike Promotion Wars, you can't set up feuds. Sometimes, the game will do that for you, but it doesn't seem right when Chuck Palumbo attacks Rey Mysterio Jnr during a Cruiserweight title defence against Essa Rios. After all, why would Palumbo attack Rey? It wouldn't be for his title would it?

Also, the lack of certain matches are also a let down. Sure, you have a normal match, hardcore, cage, tables, ladders, Hell in a Cell, even TLC, but you can't have a Battle Royal. As a pro wrestling fan for many years, I always enjoyed a good
Battle Royal.

Apart from those two points, Extreme Warfare 2 is a very enjoyable game. If, like me, you enjoy computer games where you have to run a sports team, such as Championship Manager of International Cricket Captain, then you'll enjoy this one!